Favorite
by Lentimental
Summary: Len consumes poison. That's it. That's the only summary you get. That was my prompt for when I had to write this for a Halloween challenge on VRA.


"I've told you time and time again not to play tag in the house! Now look what you've done," the household nanny scolded, gesturing to the broken porcelain on the floor. "Your mother is going to have a fit once she finds out her prized vase is shattered."

"Len was the one who ran into it! Why am I the one being yelled at?!" Rin, the older sibling, complained.

"You're older and you should know better, Rin," the nanny started. "You're supposed to set a good example for your younger brother." As Rin's face puffed out into an angry pout, the nanny sighed and shook her head. "Go on to the kitchen. Your lunches are ready. I'll get this cleaned up."

Spinning around on her heel, Rin took off in the direction of the kitchen, stomping her feet the whole way to make her frustration known. Len followed close behind Rin, his hands clasped together in front of him and twiddled his thumbs nervously. "I'm sorry…" he apologized.

Stopping in her tracks, Rin turned her head to look at him. "You should be sorry. You need to learn to speak up for yourself. I can't keep taking the fall like this for you."

Len kept his eyes downward, having heard her tell him the same thing each time they got into trouble. It wasn't his fault that he was so timid, but it was his fault that he wasn't putting as much effort into trying to build up his courage. He could only nod in response to her statement. "I'll speak up next time… Again, I'm sorry…"

"Go wait outside by the tree swing. I'll bring our lunch out so we can have a picnic instead of eating at the table." Rin instructed, walking over to the kitchen once again. "Grab the picnic blanket while you're at it," she called over her shoulder before she disappeared behind a corner.

Len and Rin laid back on the grass, their bellies full from the lunch they had just finished. They looked up at the bright blue sky and watched the clouds pass by, every now and then pointing out one that was shaped in an odd way that mimicked something familiar they had seen in their life.

Turning to her side and leaning her head in her hand, Rin looked to Len and held her hand out to him. "Here, this is for you."

"What is it?" Len questioned, sitting up. He held out his hand and watched as Rin dropped a small wrapped piece of candy. Opening it up, he saw it was a piece of her favorite kind of chocolate, which made him even more confused than he already was.

"It's chocolate, dummy. It's for you as an apology for the way that I acted toward you earlier. That vase breaking was just as much my fault as it was yours. I was the one who suggested playing tag in the first place." She sat up as well and shrugged her shoulders. "It's a peace offering, I guess you could say."

Nodding a little in understanding, Len popped the piece of chocolate into his mouth and ate it slowly, savoring the taste. It wasn't everyday that Rin would let him have any of her favorite treats. Usually she would complain if she had to share with him.

Getting up from her spot in the grass, Rin stretched her arms up to the sky before letting out a small yawn. "Just laying here is making me tired, so I'm gonna go inside and see if there's anything we can read or play. I'll be back soon." Rin took off toward the house, a pep to her step as she went.

Once Rin was out of sight, Len heard someone comment, "Now that wasn't very smart of you." The young blonde jumped in his skin, looking around frantically to find the voice of the person who had just talked. Upon seeing nothing, he began to think that maybe he was just hearing things. That is, until the voice spoke again. "I'm right here, you moron."

Looking downward, Len's eyes locked onto a small squirrel that sat beside him. How it had gotten there in the first place, he did not know. What he did know was that the furry creature was verbally insulting him and he did not know how. "You… can talk?" He spoke slowly, unsure of himself.

"Of course I can talk. Every living thing can talk. It's just a matter of being able to understand." The squirrel climbed up into his lap and threw an acorn at his head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Len rubbed his forehead, frowning in displeasure at the squirrel.

"Your head is about as empty as that acorn." The squirrel commented.

"Now, now, that's not nice…" Another voice spoke from behind the boy. Turning to look behind him, he saw the bark of the tree move. Upon closer inspection, he could make out a face in the wood. "He just trusts way too easily."

At this point, Len felt as though he was going crazy. Maybe he was just sleep deprived? He was trying to make some logical reasoning for what was transpiring right before his eyes, but he could come up with nothing but lame excuses. "I don't understand what you mean."

"Of course you don't understand. You're too stupid," the squirrel insulted once more.

"You really should stop insulting humans." The tree commented before directing it's attention at Len. "My dear, you need a doctor…"

"A doctor?" Len questioned. "Our family doctor is at least a 20 minute drive away. What do I need a doctor for?"

The tree's wooden face grew solemn. "Oh dear… You're not going to make it."

"His fate is sealed." The squirrel said, crawling off of Len's lap and making its way to sit at the base of the tree. "He's done for."

"Done for? Wait, what do you-" Len's words were cut short by a sudden lack of oxygen. He began to wheeze and placed a hand to his chest, desperately trying to get bigger intakes of air through his restricted throat.

"Hey, Len, I found a book for us to read." Rin announced her arrival, holding up a rather big and thick looking book. Taking a moment to look at him, she started to realize that something was wrong with him. "Hey, are you okay…?" She asked, getting down onto her knees beside him and setting the book down onto the floor.

"A..ir... " Len managed to choke out, trying to tell Rin that he couldn't breathe and desperately needed air.

"Air? What kind of game are you trying to play here?" She tilted her head to the side, thinking momentarily that he was just joking around with her. But as a minute passed by, she figured that wasn't the case. "Oh…" Was all she could say. She laid him back down in the grass, her hands dusting off Len's clothes.

Len's vision swam behind his eyes, one of his hands weakly reaching up to grip onto Rin's shirt. He was scared, and he couldn't hide it. He couldn't breathe and his sister wasn't running to get help. He didn't understand why.

Seeing the look of fear on Len's face broke Rin's facade and she covered her mouth with the back of her hand, a small giggle escaping her. "Whoops, that slipped out." Seeing the confused, yet horrified look in her twin brother's eyes, she smiled wickedly down at him. "Finally."

"Now I'm going to be the new favorite," Len heard her say before his grip loosened, his hand falling to the ground and his vision faded into nothing.


End file.
